"I would not presume to know anything about the victims of the shooting but that they were there last night to watch a movie. I believe movies are one of the great American art forms and the shared experience of watching a story unfold on screen is an important and joyful pastime. The movie theatre is my home, and the idea that someone would violate that innocent and hopeful place in such an unbearably savage way is devastating to me."

Nolan concluded: "Nothing any of us can say could ever adequately express our feelings for the innocent victims of this appalling crime, but our thoughts are with them and their families."

"My prayers and deepest sympathies are with the victims and their families of this horrific act," added star Gary Oldman, Gotham police officer turned commissioner James Gordon in all three of Nolan's Batman films.

While screenings of The Dark Knight Rises are currently proceeding as scheduled around the country, the National Association of Theaters said earlier today it was working with the Department of Homeland Security to better ensure a safe moviegoing experience for all theatergoers. The AMC chain of theaters has also banned people from coming in costume to watch the film.

Warner Bros., which described itself as "deeply saddened," has canceled what was to have been the film's star-studded red carpet premiere in Paris and upcoming promotional appearances by the cast have been canceled.

The studio also pulled the violent trailer for the shoot-'em-up period film Gangster Squad from all future Dark Knight Rises screenings.

Networks including NBC, CBS and ESPN have stopped airing commercials for the film—a move that Warner Bros. says it "fully supports."